and israeli ground offensive against gaza could be drawing closer with hundreds of strikes already targeting this trip. egypt's prime minister arrives in gaza as israel promises to suspend its moment if hamas holds its fire as well all the details just ahead. the u.s. shows an unwavering support for israel's operation blaming hamas for the spike in violence but many people on the streets of new york couldn't disagree. also this hour after people in england and wales of blood to trees own police commissioners for the first time. layoffs and a growing waffler could lead to offices a growing try.

this is a seat having to live from moscow hello and welcome to the program israel has pledged to hold its offensive on gaza during a brief visit there by egypt's prime minister arrives to show support to palestinians the short truce comes on the third day always rolls and attacks which killed nineteen people including civilians and mounting fears of a ground operation let's get more from tom barton in tel aviv hello that tom so there have been reports of another strike on gaza this morning but has israel actually suspended fine now that they gyptian premier has arrived. hi uli yes at the moment a tense silence hangs over the gaza strip egypt's prime minister has arrived not just it seems to show solidarity with the gazans but also potentially to try

and broker a cease fire between guards the militants. israel that bombardment that was going on earlier has stopped. yet in yahoo the the israeli prime minister's office announced that it would hold its fire for the duration of this visit as long as hamas also stopped firing rockets as well the prime minister added that he does respect and wants to continue the egypt and israel's peace treaty that peace treaty very important to both countries foreign policies and there are hopes that possibly a cease fire may be signed at the moment possibly that is the very best hope that there is of a de escalation of violence around guards or for the moment the bombardment has stopped as have the rocket attacks they were very intense earlier this morning

and also overnight and are there any signs of a ground invasion nearing than. well that is still the question on many people's lips there is still the fact that thirty thousand reservists are ready to be called up ses the israeli defense forces and that bombardment has been very intense indeed one hundred thirty targets struck over the second night of this aerial bombardment of israeli defense forces saying they were targeting underground rocket stores a lot of explosions there and an increase in the death toll inside gaza also widespread reports of troops and tanks moving the south towards the garzon border it seems now that this visit by egypt's prime minister more important than ever as

the risk of a ground war in gaza as we saw over the new year of two thousand and eight to nine still looms. large in live from tel aviv thank you very much indeed for that time sadly talking to you again later on today. despite a number of civilian deaths including those of children israel's foreign ministry has hailed the precision of the israeli operation and my colleague rory sushi has been speaking to that spokesperson paul he's shown. this is been so far one of the most surgical pinpoint military operations in modern military history i think again you will see that the civilian to militant casualty ratio will show up israel to have unfortunately killed civilians but far fewer then than any other comparable military. action but you have a pin point operation you call this one of the most precise and exact and pinpoint military operations that israel's known in recent history and that can allow for

what you might consider collateral damage the killing of children when you when you presented and you talk about civilians it's always said as all the three israelis who were killed but all of the palestinians who were killed seven are confirmed militants two to use a like you would know you are you. possibly you're just giving rise to anti israeli attitudes among palestinians let's let's have a listen to this quickly as the hamas leader that we spoke to just a bit earlier place down by. the assassination of this great leader. clearly confirms that we are still in the heart of resistance with the israeli enemy designers generally knows nothing but the language of killing and blood our battle with the enemy is an open bottle to god willing this battle will end with palestine and jerusalem liberated being what you should wait for our actions would not occur and. we've seen your actions a situation which no sovereign anywhere in the world could accept what would you do were just one missile to land in central moscow where we talk about our missiles and let's the scarify here we're talking about mortar rockets that are being

attracted over some some might say that a mortar rocket from the palestinian militants compared to your. health fire inside why the missiles from your. fighter jet so well it's quite a big difference between fireworks and bombs but the truth of the matter is that we have a situation where just today three israeli civilians were killed call the mortars call the missiles did civilians we have a situation where in the recent past something. thirty percent of these really children in southern israel diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder israel was heavily criticized by a part of the world community i agree with you there i remind you and i point out that that was four years ago the lowest civilian to militant casualty rate in history twenty nine percent of those killed were civilians and i'm not belittling the death of any civilians but far lower than any other military campaign in the last century i think that we will see something similar the stuff we're hoping to

achieve number of things first and foremost to significantly degrade the command and control operational abilities of. israeli prime minister binyamin netanyahu has also been talking about hating hamas with what he calls surgical strikes warning of a significant widening out the operation he spoke to dr mohamad chatah bonnie has been treating the wounded and he says they're coming they're coming from residential areas not military sites. and armed civilians are under attack including women and children all the injured we're treating come to us from residential areas we're located in the intensive care unit of the clinic here and this is a nine month old girl with severe head injuries. in the yesterday a boy came in who is only eleven months old he had burns over ninety five percent of his body he died an hour after these are children invaders started the war and against whom i think there launched a war against children and ordinary people because all of her patients are

civilians. you can keep trying what's happening in gaza on our website of gold a timeline live update the latest with everything from eyewitness accounts from the besieged strip to official statements from both sides. there for you right now because the issue of warning to these rogue could go through as to block the internet in gaza they also provided detailed instructions for users on how to avoid a communications blackout story and of course full coverage of the conflict in gaza as. the u.s. has blamed the escalating violence in gaza on hum are saying its rocket attacks were destabilizing the situation and pushing peace efforts father away but protesters took to the streets of new york and washington with a different view they marched in support of the people in gaza who are suffering from the old demonstrators were calling for a separate palestinian state and thence to the violence. as as many as six hundred

activists have gathered outside the israeli consulate in the city and that comes as washington strongly biased the use of force against gaza saying israel has the right to defend itself correspondent explains. there's been several responses on the international level most of the un's most powerful voices have called on israel's defense forces and gaza's militant groups to exercise restraint but the u.s. has remained the exception the u.s. has backed israel's decision to launch an operation according to the white house president barack obama spoke with israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu by phone on wednesday reiterating washington support for israel's right to defend itself after coming under rocket attacks from gaza the two reportedly agreed that hamas needs to first stop its attacks on israel to allow the situation to deescalate obama reportedly urged netanyahu to make every effort to avoid civilian casualties now the u.s. president also delivered this message to his egyptian counterpart mohamed morsi

during as. separate phone conversation that's of course according to the white house now meanwhile other major un powers like britain and russia have issued more neutral statements calling on all sides to exercise restraint and prevent any acts of violence u.n. secretary general ban ki-moon echo those sentiments reminding all parties to respect their obligations obligations under international humanitarian law and to ensure the protection of civilians at all times the u.n. secretary general is scheduled to visit the region next week in order to advance a cease fire between israel and hamas but we should also mention that leaders the arab world are also holding on israel accountable and blaming israel for this escalation of violence so clearly the u.n. as she has a lot on his plate if he is when he attempts to to to successfully achieve a cease fire because for now this violence is clearly spiraling and escalating.

from the basis of the crisis in gaza you can also live updates on twitter and of course work closely film and a story. they see when opposition has received a major vote of confidence from the country's neighbor tara has officially recognized the national coalition alliance and the u.k. could be said to do the same more coming up in the problem of. the ra and the british police force has had a long term with close to collapse and a seeming lack of government support in leaving the fight against climate a threat that's coming up after the break. tucked in between the russian mainland japan and the sun coming island is the

island of minute on named after french seafarer who discovered it it is described as the pride of the sakhalin region we'll take a look at what's in store for us here. until two thousand and four the island was part of the borders own and was completely restricted to visit is no the speech rest place is open to tourists unique plants and animals are its top attraction. really has been exploring the deaths of the world seas for several decades but it's here at more your own island where here is finally found what he'd been looking for . the water here is very clear the visibility is very good and the underwater world here is extremely rich i've been to many diving locations across the planet including the island of bali but mine are on top of my list while some go to the

cycling region to enjoy the sights others convert the arlen's nature's riches into a healthy dollar it is home to the biggest seafood processing factory in russia the tonight shock hundreds of thousands of tons of fish get caught in the nets too late to produce delicious selman caviar. necessary attribute of anything. the owner of the. fishing season can bring in more than a hundred million dollars. this is. only. a mild climate unique natural sights and delicious seafood such a diverse those who are not afraid. of the question is whether this would ever be able to become a major. well

. technology innovation all the list of elements around russia we've got this huge earth covered. resistance not the politics but our culture. is could. cultures of resistance.

welcome back the sea kid has given syria's national coalition a major boost by recognizing the opposition group as an egyptian that represents so the country's people france became the first western politician acknowledged the alliance and is now considering supplying weapons to the rebels they say when opposition is now go behind for more support in london as the fleet is prepared to meet with the u.k. foreign secretary britain wants to see a clear plan of political transition from the alliance and it's considering official recognition of the group the u.k. could also have a say in lifting the e.u. arms embargo on the rebel coalition and german journalists to money you know us and by to take his move to help the opposition good eventually bought five games about the country's people. within the last month turkey was supporting the rebels and i

don't see the syrian rebels we know that the rebels are fighting against syrian government are coming from all over the region they are coming from because it's reaching there or coming from of yemen we know that they are rebels coming from movie even from sudan but that turkey is providing the infrastructure for these mercenaries are jihadists who are coming into the syrian country this politics towards syria it's a very short term politics it's the fuel short terms if what disappear and if syria would be split among the warlords in this country which i know supported by the west by turkey and by. emirates countries such jerky would witness these warlords sooner or later of taking also turkey and i think the turkish people knows that this politics is drawing against the interests of the turkish we have no huge demonstrations in the stumble in ankara against it specially against that form of church politics the word syria because you know that this is. and.

whipping up a storm of controversy lysimachus agencies facing flat out it's revealed it's sort of disaster relief train is on the very day sunday was ungraded by forecasters the storm. and also now what side chanting nice is out and throwing coffee great protest as events there spilling out of a comment by china chancellor angela merkel find out at r.t. dot com and watch has said to make themselves free. and they ask in conflict between israel and gaza ongoing violence in syria and crucial energy ties among the main issues for discussion by german chancellor angela merkel on her visit to moscow to me to present the let's get the details how this could all be going to see it so that theory leaders have a good relationship and often hold talks. what can we expect to come out of them this time around. while the german chancellor is set to meet with the russian

president later on friday the two are expected to discuss these issues avoid the crisis in the middle east the iranian nuclear program and of course the call to be in syria also energy and trade ties are very important portion of the relationship between russia and germany so they're going to be talked about as well and also the two leaders are expected to discuss the human rights situation in the wake of several wars which children parents recently which some skeptics see as a democratic so there are definitely things to talk about alternative course we'll bring you all the details of this meeting as soon as it happens here in moscow will be looking forward to it thank you very much igor and let's now take a look at some other stories making news this hour japan will be heading to the polls next month with the country's prime minister dissolving the lower house of parliament that's after the opposition liberal democratic party agreed to ban kiva just lay should think looting deficit financing and literal reforms the l.d.p.

is expected to snap up the most seats but unlike you short of a majority that will result in a weekend and it's divided coalition government as the country struggles with a two decade long economic slump. boss and former cia director david petraeus says he did not pass counter-point information to his biographer only hard enough to know where all in general is being investigated by the cia and claims that he quit due to the sex scandal rather than controversy over there sold on the u.s. consulate in libya which left four americans dead but tresses due to testify on capitol hill about the matter early on friday. the world giant b.p. has agreed to plead guilty to charges in the deadly fuel spill in the gulf of mexico which devastated the environment and claims the lives of eleven people the corporation will pay a record a settlement with the u.s. authorities are worth four point five billion dollars in return for the case being closed. three and louise facing charges of with a twenty turned design start to have them for manslaughter the gun but he will soon

get the money from the sale of percent of t. and k b p to the russian oil giant will say. at least four people including pakistani security personnel have been killed in a suicide blast in the south west province of baluchistan two border patrol troops stopped a car for a routine check near the afghan border when the two men inside did an age of explosives violence has been on the rise in the province where human rights are concerned by a spike in targeted killings. of people in england and wales have been given a choice of who they want to see keep the peace in their local areas and they have voted for police and crime commissioners for the first time but the new development goes hand in hand with all the problems with a former london police chief warning that plummeting morale is putting the fight against climate risk. why the force no longer feels it has the government's support . another day another demo and the police all with old hands to keep control

but while the boys and girls in blue do their jobs sometimes it impossible conditions the government is reducing their budget by a massive twenty percent the net result more all in the force hits an all time low with just fifteen out of fourteen thousand officers saying they feel the government gives them a great deal of support rachel baines is surprised but not in a good way. to say their fifteen offices are certainly in the force i work in lancashire and i don't have any offices to fill up being supported by the government at rock bottom baines has lost five hundred fifty officers from her force meaning more work for those left behind and a genuine fear that when people call nine nine nine there won't be anyone left to deal with the emergency and she's not alone so i'm in pain is chair of the war except police federation and says morale hasn't been this low in his twenty six

year career we have a plethora of issues over the last two years whether you start with or conditions of service pension reforms or were thought forms in the police service person twenty percent cuts in a forgiving example here in work prior to this government coming to power we had a thousand and fifty offices we're now down into the seven hundreds we have one of the biggest might sway networks in the country and we have no traffic department. so it's coming from all sides times are so hard in war that the force is even selling off its stations including its h.q. there's no for sale here but the iconic scotland yard headquarters of the metropolitan police is also on the markets it's a real turnaround just. a year ago they met with trumpeting a three billion pound refurbish it space was revolving starting now it's downsizing

to a new size of the ten most nearby and replacing smaller stations with counters in supermarkets and communities that. the force feels it's being disproportionately targeted but home secretary to reason may is on repentant let's stop pretending the police are being picked on they do feel picked on and critically powerless to protect themselves as illegally the police aren't allowed to strike but that could change in february we are balloting everyone can fall off the rank of chief inspector in england and wales on that very question do they want full industry rights and and the reason that is important is because members need protecting from what they perceive is an unfair treatment by by this government a police force on strike is the last thing the government needs particularly as it

still has not the winter of discontent in the face no respect for tea. and also the rake with gold big cultures of resistance special report exploring how art and creativity can be used as ammunition in the bunch of peace and justice in. the sun rises over what seems like and most forest here in the new directions quite hundred kilometers north of life are stopped as much of the world it's disappearing at a catastrophic rate. mortgages both illegal and those finding ways to outsmart. the system for filing down the forests of the region for them profit goes well beyond the future of our planet and

the result could be an ecological crisis the world wildlife fund for nature makes regular trips to help local rangers do what little they can to stop the logging but it's not easy lager set up trucks making them hard to reach in an already rough terrain and have mastered ways to jump through legal loopholes this is a nature reserve we're only sanitary logging of disease trees is a lie out according to law and not a single berry can be picked up along like this used their sanitary logging permit to cut down absolutely healthy trees and sell the profitable timber over the border in china we are on the hunt for illegal loggers and it's not going to be easy to forests. and their chances are slim now for now we can stay in our dreams but as soon as we find tracks we'll have to drop our wheels and get out silently in order not to scare the loggers off alexander some more than god has been

a ranger for over twenty five years he can spend weeks at a time tracking a single group of loggers easier to work when snow falls in autumn it's impossible to find human dramatics and even transport tracks are hard to see after hours of driving we get sent in the right direction by word of mouth you can see that the ground is soft here which means that twelve tractor trails are very fresh which in fact means that we need to be quiet in order to not scare them off as we get closer . but this team says they're illegal but have no documents now xander can now call the police to take over his work here is done he is overwhelmingly outnumbered there are too few rangers working in the promote the region and the w w f says the government isn't doing enough to stop it the government now for more of. the boat. and so in regards in your forest quote and according to close up in your loaf every for us that serves the guys in waltham

in the in the forest to the still exists for us courts still doesn't work because you. know who it is no one tries to stop them in just five years the force will be gone they'll sell it all to china and what will the people who live afterwards do live it's a question more and more people are aware of today climate change in the safety of our environment as a whole are being discussed around the world and perhaps it's those small steps that might be a start to people living in harmony with nature. two

thousand. and six. feet. two thousand. years one of the largest rivers in the world the plan is to dam all the major tributaries of the amazon river. there will be immense pressure not only on

ecological reserves but also on the communities and the territories that are used sustainably by indigenous people. meanwhile agribusiness is encroaching illegal logging is taking place and so the shingle basin is now at a crossroads and this is there's a resistance against this dam project that was going on for twenty years. who had gathered here to defend all waters as it on demand so right. to finish it and these energy will power and the big aluminum companies and on mining companies who are well and resources.